Learn Korean Words with K-Pop – Let It Go by Hyorin (SISTAR)

How are you today? Have you recovered from your Lunar New Year/American Superbowl festivities? Are you at home because of a snow day? I hear the middle part of the United States is getting pummeled with snow right now! I hope everyone stays safe!

Speaking of snow, I recently saw the movie “Frozen” (known as “겨울 왕국” (Winter Kingdom) in Korean) and became totally OBSESSED with the soundtrack. I listen to the song “Let It Go” almost every day on my way to the office, so if you are ever in Seoul and see a crazy forienger dancing and singing loudly, that’s probably me 😀

Although I listen to the English version of “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel a lot, I also really enjoy the K-pop version by Hyorin 😀

Check out Hyorin’s version here:

I picked out a couple things I thought were interesting or helpful to know if you are like me and you enjoy translating lyrics to help you learn Korean.

1. 더 이상

In the second line of the song (and in the chorus/refrain), Hyorin sings “더 이상 참지 않아~”. I found this phrase to be a bit strange when I translated each word individualy. It ended up translating as “more weird I can’t endure.”

Okay, so I know Elsa can shoot snow out of her fingertips and can turn a lake into an ice rink just by stepping onto it, but this is a Disney movie, so magical powers aren’t weird! My translation couldn’t be right.

Upon consulting my Sharp electronic dictionary, I found that “더 이상” is actually a fixed expression that compares a difference between the past and now. It has an implied meaning of something/someone “used to” do something, “but” now they don’t, similar to the English word “anymore”. 더 이상 is ALWAYS used with a negative structure, such as 못 or -지 않다.